[seul-edu] Re: Student Information Standard (EduML)

[Bruno Vernier <vernier@vc.bc.ca>]

On Sun, Oct 22, 2000 at 10:30:51PM +0000, Manuel Gutierrez Algaba wrote:
> On Sun, 22 Oct 2000, Bruno Vernier wrote:

> > 1. There are only 2 meta-standards worth discussing for medium to large 
> > applications: SQL and XML.  Both of them are becoming extremely important 
> 
> I have only one thing to say. I don't know any educative piece
> of software written in SQL or XML. 
> 
> SQL/XML seems hard for GPL'ed projects, specially for 
> education. 
> SQL/XML seems utopia for commercial educative projects.


Hi Manuel,

Thanks for responding!  

1. I agree with you:  the commercial educational software I have to work with
does not currently use either XML nor SQL, historically prefering proprietary
database standards instead.

2. I agree with you: SQL/XML is hard for GPL or any kind of programming.
This is why we still have no working EDUML-compliant software to show, nor
any released commercial IMS-compliant software (to my knowledge) after
2 years of talk.  XML is very young - few programmers really know it,
and there is a very high demand for people who know SQL (jobs for SQL 
programmers now routinely offer 6 digit salaries in US dollars  !!!)

3. I agree with you: the IMS project is a sort of utopia and Adam Smith's
hidden hand (reference to the laissez-faire motor of capitalism) ignores 
utopic dreams.  So I agree that there is a significant chance that IMS and 
SIF will end up being abandonned projects in a few years.

4. I partially agree (and therefore partially disagree) with the implied
conclusion that all of this is silly talk:  Even if nothing comes of it, it
is good to know what we are dealing with here.  I easily predict that the
topic of standard data format in education will come up over and over again
on this and many other discussion lists.  Perhaps we should save everyone
time and collect our current wisdom together as a FAQ so that future
installments will have a better chance of bringing "new" elements to the
picture.

5. Having mostly agreed with you, nonetheless, my job includes integrating
all the educational data in my work environment.  Given I have to do that,
and given I am perhaps not the only one with that (even self-imposed)
directive, I think there might something productive that can come of such
silly talk.

:-)

Bruno